RIDDLE.
297
To marriages and funerals
Their presence added grace,
And though the king himself were by,
They took the highest place.
Their business is to stir up men
A constant watch to keep ;
Instead of which,—O sad reverse,—
They make them fall asleep.
Not so in former times it was,
Howe'er it came to pass ;
Though they their company ne'er left
Till empty was the glass.
The moderns can't be charged with this,
But may their foes defy,
To prove such practices on them,
Though they 're extremely dry.
